Rob and Diana chose the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs to host their wedding back in March. Their day was simple and elegant but with an added dash of sparkle! “Our wedding had a desert chic theme!” wrote the bride. “The otherworldly modern feel of the natural desert offset by a palette of mixed metallics. We did a lot of DIY. I had a serious staff of dedicated friends – we crafted every weekend for four months! I even flew my future mother-in-law out from New York to help – she had great handwriting for all the personalized gift bags from her days teaching kindergarten. Don’t be afraid if you don’t know exactly what its going to look like when you are done, if you can dream it do it!”

“We made everything very personal – from integrating graphic design from my mom to having our friends help design the altar and flowers and do the DJing. Let’s just say any wedding that requires a roll of chicken wire, eight cans of spray paint, a mosh pit, and my father-in-law dropping it to Wu Tang Clan is not the norm.  It was what we know of the music scene we grew up in: community, loyalty, and never taking ourselves too seriously.”

“I also spent many months promising to jump into the pool with my dress on as I love to swim”, she continued. “I see no reason to ‘preserve’ a dress I won’t wear again, and it sounded liberating and fun! My best friend was horrified and made a pact with my mother in law to stop me. Nobody stops me though! It got hot on the dance floor, I simply ran out, hopped in and my mother-in-law followed me all the way into the pool. Eventually many other people joined in including my groom in his skivvies. The next day my mother-in-law declared the pool left her dress as fresh as any dry cleaning!”

“I never ever knew a wedding could be so much fun”, she concluded. ” I was an anti-bride. My parents eloped and I always thought the whole thing seemed self indulgent and silly. But there is so much love in our new joined family that I couldn’t stand the idea of leaving anyone out. It felt like a runaway train many times, especially long nights of crafting, but it was worth every penny and every second and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Maybe not for another year though  I need a rest.”